Students’ problem behaviors and teachers’ warmth and demand as predictors of students’ classroom instructional experiences in first grade

The present study utilized both classroom- and student-level observation methods to investigate the relations among first grade students’ (N = 533) problem behaviors and their classroom instructional experiences. Additionally, the role of teachers’ (N = 57) warm demander characteristic, a combination of warmth and responsiveness and classroom control and demand, was considered. Multilevel modeling revealed a positive association between problem behaviors and student time in both teacher-facilitated small-group instruction and off-task, and to less time in types of instruction where students were expected to manage themselves. Interaction effects further indicated that the positive association between problem behaviors and time in teacher-facilitated, small-group instruction only existed when students with more problem behaviors were in classrooms with teachers who were high or average in warm demander characteristic, whereas the opposite pattern existed for students of teachers low in warm demander characteristic. In addition, students of teachers who were high in warm demander characteristic spent less time in disruption/waiting (a main effect), and for these students a positive association between problem behaviors and students’ time in disruption/waiting existed (an interaction effect). Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.